It’s official: Co-contribution cuts hurt middle Australia, and women
If you earn less than $62,000 a year then you should be very interested in this article. In May 2009, the Federal Government ‘temporarily’ cut the maximum co-contribution payment available and ‘temporarily’ froze the income thresholds for assessing an individual’s eligibility for the co-contribution scheme.
THE SOAPBOX: Setting targets – how old school!
A major flaw in Australia’s retirement income policy (and in the investment techniques utilised by the skilled professionals who work in the super industry) is the lack of focus on outcomes – specifically, long-term outcomes that enable Australians to plan towards a ‘target’ retirement income, and a target lump sum to deliver that level of income.
Age Pension: Is the Government ripping off our retirees?
Around 80% of retirees receive a full or part-Age Pension, and anecdotal evidence suggests that the devastating effects of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) during the past two years made thousands of self-funded retirees eligible for a part-Age Pension for the first time.
Super funds set to celebrate double-digit returns for 2009 calendar year
Rating company, SuperRatings, expects the balanced options of Australia’s major super funds to deliver an investment return after fees and taxes of between 10% and 12% for the 2009 calendar year. More on this later. Before I expand on this [...]
THE SOAPBOX: Trish’s four lessons from the GFC (Grab-For-Cash)
I was holidaying in Europe when the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) officially hit in October 2008 (although investment markets had been falling dramatically since December 2007). The impact of the GFC saw the United Kingdom bail out its major banks. [...]
